Aisha: The Wife, The Companion, The Scholar

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Aisha: The Wife, The Companion, The Scholar

This book portrays one of the most significant personalities in the history of Islam. Taking the misunderstandings and defamation about her into consideration, Aisha needs to be understood correctly.

This study by Dr. Resit Haylamaz, an expert on the life of the Prophet and his leading Companions, reflects her life in various aspects based on reliable reports. The book clarifies her critical role at establishing the Islamic teaching, with particular reference to her role in the transmission of private matters concerning women and marital relations, as well as recording the authentic sayings of the Prophet. As her sensitivity at practicing religion is related in a rich variety of examples, much disputed issues like her marriage age and her stance about Ali ibn Abu Talib are covered as separate topics.

Khadija and Aisha had a special position among the wives of God’s Messenger; while the former was like the royal vizier in Mecca for fifteen years before the revelation, the latter fulfilled the same duty during the Medina years and later on. When they are considered in terms of the mission that they performed, each of them had the proper qualifications. God Almighty provided the Messenger of God with a strong character: in Mecca where belief, self-sacrifice and bravery were so necessary, He gave him Khadija; in Medina where the requirements of knowledge, intelligence and reasoning were felt, He bestowed him Aisha.

Certainly, Khadija was the sturdiest woman of Mecca. She provided unyielding support to God’s Messenger during the hardest days when troubles were at peak, during his days of suffering when there were problems and disasters one after the other. When he began to call people to Islam, she was his greatest supporter, both materially and
spiritually. Khadija was the first Muslim; believing in God’s Messenger at a vital moment when he needed her most meant a special place at the side of God and His Messenger.

Aisha’s place was different; she was a special vizier to the Messenger of God after the hijrah to Medina, when it was necessary to render service to religion. Aisha, with a bright, inquisitive mind and a quick with, distinguished herself in the Prophet’s house. God Almighty bestowed her with extraordinary brilliance. She had a questioning nature, and did not blindly accept what she heard.She was critical of everything she heard, according to the criteria of the Qur’an and behavior of the Prophet (the Sunna). Her ear was on the alert for revelation and her eyes were on the result. Aisha was like a bridge between the time of the Prophet and the future of Islam.

Aisha: the Wife, the Companion, the Scholar Aisha represented the vitality of revelation during the half-century after the death of God’s Messenger, and did not deprive her students of the light of Prophethood. Like a meeting point for travelers from different directions, her place was by the Four Rightful Caliphs. When possible controversies arose, Aisha was a kind arbitrator. For mistakes on religious issues that emerged, she was a dignified corrector, and a decisive and patient example of the straight path of Islam.

Wherever she went, that place would come to life. People who entered into her ambience felt that they became colored with the light of revelation and returned in excitement and vividity, almost as if they had visited the Messenger of God. There was no one who came to her with a question but was unable to get an answer for it. She concluded nearly every matter with revelation, and found solutions to others’ problems directly from the Qur’an and the Sunna. In other matters, she evaluated, compared and interpreted based on her own vast knowledge of the religion.

Aisha was the mother of all believers.Among the things thatpassed onto us from her, there was certain information that would normally remain private between spouses. Out of necessity, she appeared to convey details of the religion. Many matters would have remained unknown to us if she had not existed. Behind closed doors she asked the most intimate questions to God’s Messenger, as if she was throwing a life ring to us. Aisha is reinviting people of conscience to the Straight Path of Islam. Hoping that this book in your hands, like an invitation, will be the means for good deeds…

Table of Content

Contents
Preface ……………………………………………………………………………………………. vii
Betrothal …………………………………………………………………………………………..1
Mecca Memoirs ………………………………………………………………………………….2
The Marriage Offer ……………………………………………………………………………..2
First Stop ………………………………………………………………………………………….3
Second Address ………………………………………………………………………………….4
The Advice Given to Umm Ruman ……………………………………………………….5
The Holy Migration ……………………………………………………………………………5
Hijrah ……………………………………………………………………………………………….8
The Medina Pestilence ……………………………………………………………………….10
The Marriage ……………………………………………………………………………………12
Her Father’s Attitude after the Wedding ……………………………………………….15
The Physical Conditions of Aisha’s House …………………………………………….16
Enduring Austerity ……………………………………………………………………………22
Women’s Representative ……………………………………………………………………24
Her Love for the Messenger of God …………………………………………………….36
The Prophet’s Love……………………………………………………………………………42
The Real Reason for This Love …………………………………………………………..47
Aisha Inside the Home ………………………………………………………………………50
Entertainment …………………………………………………………………………………..58
Competition …………………………………………………………………………………….59
Request for a New Name ………………………………………………………………….60
Sensitivity ………………………………………………………………………………………..62
Her Worship ……………………………………………………………………………………63
Her Asceticism and Humility ………………………………………………………………68
Her Generosity …………………………………………………………………………………75
Her Attention to Hijab ……………………………………………………………………………78
Guiding Others and Conveying the Message ………………………………………….81
Aisha’s Attendance to Military Campaigns …………………………………………….82
Performing Ablution with Sand or Earth ………………………………………………83
The Slander ……………………………………………………………………………………..85
The Sickness of Aisha ………………………………………………………………………..90
vi Aisha: the Wife, the Companion, the Scholar
The Companions’ Reaction and Belief ………………………………………………….92
The Good News ……………………………………………………………………………….96
The Wives of God’s Messenger and Aisha ……………………………………………100
Khadija ……………………………………………………………………………………..101
Other Wives of God’s Messenger ……………………………………………………104
Aisha’s Status ……………………………………………………………………………..105
The Prohibition (Tahrim) …………………………………………………………………115
Aisha and Fatima ……………………………………………………………………………117
The Last Days with the Messenger of God …………………………………………..120
The Era of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs and Muawiya …………………….127
The Caliphate of Abu Bakr ……………………………………………………………….129
The Caliphate of Umar ……………………………………………………………………133
The Caliphate of Uthman ………………………………………………………………..137
The Caliphate of Ali ………………………………………………………………………..143
Muslims’ Test with Their Brothers: the Battle of the Camel ……………………146
The Caliphate of Muawiya ………………………………………………………………..155
Aisha and Knowledge ………………………………………………………………………161
Aisha was the Source of Knowledge for Everyone …………………………….161
Aisha and Transmission of Knowledge ……………………………………………165
Interpretation (Tafsir) ………………………………………………………………….168
Hadith ………………………………………………………………………………………171
Fiqh: Muslim Canonical Jurisprudence …………………………………………….176
Islamic Theology (Kalam) …………………………………………………………….179
Aisha’s Literary Skills …………………………………………………………………..181
Poetry and Oratory ……………………………………………………………………..184
Medicine ……………………………………………………………………………………189
Her Students ………………………………………………………………………………190
Urwa Ibn Zubayr …………………………………………………………………….193
Qasim Ibn Muhammad …………………………………………………………….195
Amra Bint Abdurrahman ………………………………………………………….197
Muaza al-Adawiyah ………………………………………………………………….199
At What Age did Aisha Marry the Prophet? …………………………………….200
Ali and Aisha………………………………………………………………………………210
Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………………..217

About The Author

Reşit Haylamaz,

Reşit Haylamaz, PhD, is an Islamic scholar and public speaker with a specialization in the early years of Islam and the life of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. He is the author of many biographies of early Muslims, including The Messenger: Prophet Muhammad and His Life of Compassion; Khadija: The First Muslim and the Wife of Prophet Muhammad; Aisha: The Wife, the Companion, the Scholar. (East Stroudsburg, PA)

About The Publisher

Tughra Books is dedicated to producing high-quality publications that contribute to the proliferation of peace and common understanding throughout the world

Tughra publishes books on Islam as a religion, Islamic history and art, Islamic spirituality and traditions. Based in the US and with offices in Berlin and Cairo, Tughra aims to introduce to the book industry publications with reliable information on this one of the major religions of the world. In doing so, Tughra Books hopes to make a contribution to peaceful co-existence in a globalized world through publications that foster common understanding and mutual respect. Its emphasis is a true image of Islam, as a religion so many people curious about, – Islam as in its authentic sources, the Qur’an and the traditions; Islam in history and today; in the East and in the West; with its contributions to human civilization in science and art, thought; Islam with devotions in the heart with reflections in the mind; Islam practiced by men and women in the mosque, at home, and at work.